What Do I need to do this?

[Jackliz]

Howdy, Framily.

I'm going to replace my tired printer. I am looking at a HP Deskjet 6840 printer that has "built-in networking and 802.11g wireless printing."  I want to be able to print stuff from my laptop without having to have the printer connected to my laptop by a cable. How can I achieve my objective?  Simple terms, please. 

Regards,
Liz
Jack has 16 more working days!!!!

 

[RvMikeC]

The easyest way to do this is by getting a Bluetooth printer and getting a bluetooth adaptor for your lap top. Also you can do endless amounts of stuff with your bluetooth from your computer 

 

[Jackliz]

The easyest way to do this is by getting a Bluetooth printer and getting a bluetooth adaptor for your lap top. Also you can do endless amounts of stuff with your bluetooth from your computer 

Thanks for the speedy response. What is Bluetooth?

Liz

 

[Ned]

Bluetooth is a short range radio protocol noted mostly for it's lack of standardization and interoperability between manufacturers.? I would avoid it for the present until it stabilizes, if that ever happens.

A networked printer, as the HP is, will be usable by any computer on the wireless network.? As long as your laptop has a WiFi adapter in it, it can access the printer.

You may want to read this review http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,118461,00.asp before buying.

 

[RvMikeC]

It is a wireless component that allows you to controle, send info, or use other bluetooth enabled devices from a short distance. Have you ever see people with those headsets in their ears with the blue light in them? Those are bluetooth headsets that allow them to operate their phones from about 30 feet away. Bluetooth can be found in just about all applications from cell phones, cameras, printers, lap tops, and so on. So bluetooth would be good for you because you want to be able to get on-line from your cell phone and want to use your printer wirelessly, this would solve both problems in one shot. You could also get a bluetooth headset and not have to have your phone even around you to answer it, needless to say it is great while driving

 

[RvMikeC]

Bluetooth is a short range radio protocol noted mostly for it's lack of standardization and interoperability between manufacturers.? I would avoid it for the present until it stabilizes, if that ever happens.

A networked printer, as the HP is, will be usable by any computer on the wireless network.? As long as your laptop has a WiFi adapter in it, it can access the printer.

You may want to read this review http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,118461,00.asp before buying.

What problems have you had with bluetooth? I have not ran into any yet

 

[Ned]

I don't use Bluetooth but have read many reports and reviews of it.  They all report similar problems with interoperability of different devices, security problems (it is a radio after all, I'm sure you heard about the Bluetooth cell phone hacks), and difficulty in setting up and working reliably.  I just cannot recommend it until the different manufacturers agree on some standards, which I doubt will ever happen.  802.11 can do anything that Bluetooth can so I don't much future for BT in the peripherals market.  It may stay around for some limited uses, such as wireless headsets for cell phones.

 

[Tom]

All this hi-techie stuff. I'm still using the wireless (RF) XT/RT that I bought from Gary a couple of years ago. A short stick (the transmitter) plugs into a USB port on the PC and the receiver plugs into the printer.

 

[edjunior]

Well, as was sorta mentioned, if you already have a wireless laptop, or a wireless adapter for your laptop, you should have to do very little, as that printer comes ready to connect wireless.  Depending on how you have the wireless set up in your laptop, it should find the printer as a "remote" printer.  I suspect that the printer will come with an installation disk that will make all this pretty painless.  You can also to the link below and get all the info you need about that printer right from HP.  There are troubleshooting and installation FAQ's on this page.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...t1=see_all&catLevel=3&product_code=C9029A#B1H

 

[Carl L]

.

How can I achieve my objective?  Simple terms, please. 

Wireless print server.  This is device that attaches to a printer by, say, a USB or parallel port and provides a wireless connection to your laptop.  See the  D-Link units at http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=174.     You do have to have a wireless card on your laptop tho.

Some printers have an infrared capacity, especially those designed to work with laptops.  If your laptop has a infrared capability that may well be another way to go.

 

[Karl]

I'd stick with the wireless server. IR is pretty directional unless you have a lot of blank walls, and it won't go thru them. It's also subject to interference from fluorescent lights. Better to have a print server with it's own IP address, but with built-in 802-11, you might as well go with a Linkys WRT54G access point/router and have it done with. Like Ned said, stay away from Bluetooth.

 

[Jackliz]

All this hi-techie stuff. I'm still using the wireless (RF) XT/RT that I bought from Gary a couple of years ago. A short stick (the transmitter) plugs into a USB port on the PC and the receiver plugs into the printer.

That sounds good. What does this wireless (RF) XT/RT thing look like? Does it work if the printer is 8 feet away from the PC?

Liz

 

[Tom]

Liz

Here it is. Works with our desktop and notebooks. The smaller stick plugs into the PC and the slightly larger one into the printer. The larger one also has a small power supply plugged into it. 8 feet is not a problem. Before we had the computer desk installed, I used to have the computer near the front of the coach and the printer in the bedroom. Chris routinely uses it at home with her desktop and printer in opposite coreners of the room.

One caveat - the reason Gary sold it was because it didn't work with something in his system, although I don't recall the details. I plugged it into my PC/notebook, it worked and I gave Gary what he paid for it.

 

[Jackliz]

.

Wireless print server.  This is device that attaches to a printer by, say, a USB or parallel port and provides a wireless connection to your laptop.  See the  D-Link units at http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=174.     You do have to have a wireless card on your laptop tho.

Some printers have an infrared capacity, especially those designed to work with laptops.  If your laptop has a infrared capability that may well be another way to go.

OK, Carl.
This means that I have 3 basic pieces of equipment: my laptop, the printer and this wireless print server.  OK, I can handle that. Now, how do I know if my laptop is able to "talk" to the print server? 

TNX,
Liz

 

[Jackliz]

Liz

Here it is. Works with our desktop and notebooks. The smaller stick plugs into the PC and the slightly larger one into the printer. The larger one also has a small power supply plugged into it. 8 feet is not a problem. Before we had the computer desk installed, I used to have the computer near the front of the coach and the printer in the bedroom. Chris routinely uses it at home with her desktop and printer in opposite coreners of the room.

One caveat - the reason Gary sold it was because it didn't work with something in his system, although I don't recall the details. I plugged it into my PC/notebook, it worked and I gave Gary what he paid for it.

Thanks for the URL, Tom. For me, pictures are very helpful for understanding.    Now if I could just figure out if my laptop is wireless friendly.

Liz

 

[Tom]

Now if I could just figure out if my laptop is wireless friendly.

If you use the plug-in wireless adapter we're using, your laptop doesn't need to be wireless friendly. The little stick just plugs into a USB port. So it works the same with our wireless capable and non-capable PCs.

 

[Ned]

The disavantage of the AmbiCom print wireless adapter is you need a Wireless Printer Slave adapter for each computer.  With the WiFi printer, any computer on the network can access the printer with no additional hardware needed beyond the WiFi adapter needed for shared file and internet access.

 

[Tom]

No disagreement Ned, but none of my printers are wireless. While we're away we use only one PC and one printer, so the Ambicom works OK. When at home, I use a dedicated MFP hooked via USB to my PC and Chris uses the wireless adapter. For someone buying a new printer and having a wireless capable PC, it might make sense to buy a wireless printer.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The reason I sold Tom the wireless printer cable (it's sold as a substitute for a USB cable) is that  they do not work with any printer that needs bi-directional communications. In my case, that was an HP printer/scanner combo.  It's not just that I couldn't scan - it wouldn't print either.    For bi-directional, you need a  print server module, such as the others have already described or a wireless ready printer.

 

[Ned]

It's a good solution for someone with one computer, one printer, and no WiFi in the computer. ?At $70 for the kit for one printer and one computer, it's ok, but for more than one computer it gets pricey.

Also, not being bidirectional, that means that things like ink monitors won't work with it.